Chromebook Pixel is a Great Deal, And Here’s Why

At first glance, Google’s new Chromebook Pixel looks like a horrible deal. Weak Operating system, middle of the road hardware, and a $1300+ pricetag. I even ranted about the price here. But then I reevaluated all of the extras Google was throwing in, and although it’s expensive, it’s actually a good deal. Look at the breakdown below for yourself.

Value Breakdown: Looking at the $1500 model.

1 TB of storage on Google Drive, free for three years. Total value: $50 per month, or $1,800. That pays for the computer in itself.

100 mb of free data per month on Verizon for two years (about $3 a month), $72

And of course, the computer itself. With an extremely high resolution touch screen, we’ll value that at $700.

Total Cost: $1500

Total Value: $2740

Actual Cost -$1240 if you use everything included.

The fact is, for this computer’s target market, it’s actually a steal. For the business traveller who likes the Pixel’s portability, they’ll use those free Gogo sessions, and the cloud storage, and of course the data while they’re on the go, so they’re actually SAVING money by buying this computer. That Cloud storage is so valuable that you’re actually better off buying a Pixel, than buying the storage on its’ own. The Pixel is so expensive that it’s not quite viable in price for most people, but to anyone that says Google isn’t providing good value, look at the facts and see that you’re incorrect. Anybody plan on buying the pixel?

Michael Sitver is a technology insider who has been blogging about technology since 2011. Along the way, he's interviewed founders of innovative startups, and executives from fortune 500 companies, and he's tried dozens or hundreds of gadgets. Michael has also contributed to works featured in Newsday, The San Francisco Chronicle, and the associated press.
Michael also occasionally consults, and writes for Seeking Alpha and Yahoo News.